AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2022 - 24

FLYING LIFE
Football is life
Flying is more than a J-O-B
BY NATALIE BINGHAM HOOVER
DURING THE PAST two years, more Americans than ever worked
from home. While that may seem like a dream scenario, it also
presents a challenge for those trying to find a healthy work-life
balance. When you are working from home because of COVID19
office closures, the line can easily get blurred. There's no way
to leave work behind if your laptop is sitting right there on the
kitchen table and your boss wants to Zoom with the whole team
at 6 p.m. on a Tuesday. It's easy to see why that would be a tough
adjustment. But for those of us who work in the aviation industry,
work and life outside of work have always been a little bit blended.
Like many pilots, I fly for fun and I also fly for hire. Most working
Aviation is life. Or life is aviation. I'm not sure which.
The two often bleed into each other.
pilots I've encountered feel supremely lucky to be doing something
they love every day. Don't get me wrong, all jobs feel like
work sometimes, but for those of us who get to " work " at the airport,
I'm hoping those J-O-B moments are few and far between.
The pilots I know tend to constantly have aviation on the
brain. Not right up in the forefront mind you, more like the
screensaver picture on your computer of a sandy beach and blue
ocean, just something pleasant in the background of our regular
lives. When we go to parties and other pilots are there, I always
catch an eyeroll from my nonpilot husband when the conversation
turns to aviation. But we can't help it. We all have this
wonderful thing in common that we're passionate about. It happens
at home too. A pilot friend sent a beautiful Christmas family
picture of all the kids and the dog. It said, " Merry Christmas
from Lance, Jean, the kids, and Bernoulli. " My 7-year-old son,
Matthew, wanted to know why someone would give their dog
such a strange name. I smirked at my husband before launching
into what I hoped was an age-appropriate discussion of aerodynamics.
When I finished explaining high and low pressure and
the miracle of how a wing gets lift, Matt just shook his head. " No
way, Mom. I don't know any dogs who could have come up with
all of that. " So, perhaps he misunderstood some part of the discussion,
but I will not be deterred.
24
AOPA PILOT / April 2022
Recently, I caught my young son staring up at the ceiling fan
deep in thought. Without warning, he threw his stuffed toy at that
spinning fan and watched in wonder as Spider-Man bounced off
and hit the wall 90 degrees ahead of where he had originally been
thrown. Now, I know most mothers would reprimand a child for
this type of behavior, but...well, you know what happened instead.
What a perfect time to discuss precession and how we use those
principles in aircraft! Work/home-life separation is a myth, I say.
We humans don't have compartmentalized brains that can put different
parts of our lives into neat little boxes. We draw lines from
one thing to another, making connections as we go.
I really do try to keep things separate, but when I get together
with my pilot brother for a meal, the conversation often drifts
toward our favorite subject. " No more airplane talk at the table, "
my mother used to complain, as if we were discussing graphic violence
or making potty jokes. Now, though, Mom is taking flying
lessons, so we all happily talk flying until we get our fill.
Because the best TV shows remind us of something in ourselves,
I'll wrap this up with a Ted Lasso reference. One of my
favorite characters is Dani Rojas, whose signature saying is
" Football is life! " He's a professional soccer player who eats,
sleeps, and breathes the game. Work and passion are all intertwined,
and he is happy and laughing in most of the scenes.
Aviation is life. Or life is aviation. I'm not sure which. The two
often bleed into each other. I'm a pilot. It doesn't define me, but
it's a big part of who I am, right along with being a mother, and a
wife, and a person of faith. When I'm working with my daughter
on pitching a softball and she's having trouble with her mechanics,
my mind goes to flight instruction and how many pilots learn
to land by first focusing on each skill individually. Master airspeed
first. Then work in altitude control. So, I tell my daughter to focus
only on her release, then once she's mastered that, we can work
in arm speed, and glove control. Is it shameful that airplanes find
their way into even precious mother-daughter time? I don't think
so. They say the secret to happiness
is to love what you do
and do what you love. Who
needs a work-life balance
when you've got all that?
myaviation101.com
NATALIE BINGHAM
HOOVER is a CFI, CFII, and
multiengine instructor with
more than 3,000 hours of
dual given.
http://www.myaviation101.com
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2022

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